- “I listen to Kelly Clarkson. Girl can SANG!” – Alchemy Within
- “Pearly Drops. Been listening to them quite often lately.” – K.A.R.L. (Kill All Remaining Life)
- “The Zombies.” – Naked Sunday
- “I used to have a secret love for some 2000’s pop, like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Ke$ha.” – Deathmare
- “The Byrds.” – The Immaculate Crows
- “80’s/90’s country! Sawyer Brown is a fave. Other than that, I listen to a lot of girl pop with my daughter. Olivia Rodrigo is punk AF.” – Deadly Vices
- “Colbie Caillat.” – Seethe
- “Limp Bizkit. I’ll own it.” – Gillsaw
- “Kool and the Gang. Fucking love those guys, and they don’t have a single bad song!” – Robbie Ekblom, Jr.
- “Taking Back Sunday. People are really surprised to hear I like a lot of emo bands.” – Encircled Throne
Alchemy Within
The Mostly Music 2025 Playlist, Pt. 3 (Updated 3/31/25)
Here are the last of the March releases (at least the ones I’ve found). Tomorrow begins the fourth installment of The Mostly Music Playlist! Be sure to visit each part of the playlist, and remember: my top 50 will drop on New Year’s Eve!
Below are the songs that have been added since March 16th.
- Anderson Park Lane: “Ghost of Cherry Creek”
- Neon Casket: “Arrows”
- Saint V: “Diamonds”
- Die Tired: “Reel Me In”
- Michael Botte Band: “Soulfully Appreciating”
- Epic Down: “Doula’s Obsession”
- Calvaria: “The Serpent Lies Within”
- New Medicine: “Natural”
- Traverse the Abyss: “Pursuit”
- Alchemy Within: “The Call”
- Wraithlurk: “Engraved” (ft. $KIMMY)
- anMech: “Necessity”
- Beneath the Hollow: “Old Hymns”
- Lift the Curse: “Violet Violence”
- KREWX: “Aura”
- KREWX: “Enchanted”
- Oozik: “In the Darkness”
- Dal-War: “No Way Out”
- Makes My Blood Dance: “Time and a Place”
- Ded: “Until I Die” (ft. Chris Motionless)
- Point Disarray: “In My Head”
- Boze: “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (Charlie Daniels cover)
- Title Holder: “Time Won’t Stop”
- Could You Not?: “Backpedal”
- The Ascendant: “Treading Water”
- Our Frankenstein: “Magnum Spire Hotel”
- Soul Sign: “Negative Thoughts” (ft. Bjorn Englen, Mark Boals, and Mike Cancino)
- Crimson Whisper: “Falling Through the Night”
- SFINX: “Magic” (ft. Left to Suffer, Aaron Gillespie, and Taylor Barber)
- Stain the Canvas: “The Light Within”
- Run the River: “Fulton Heights”
- Aesthetic Perfection: “Beautiful”
- Silent Theory: “Emptiness in You” (ft. Daedric)
- Czarina: “Fall Damage” (ft. Circuit Preacher)
- Loose Lips: “Video Games”
- Wraithlurk: “Drown” (ft. $KIMMY)
- Swallow the Sun: “MelancHoly – Holy Edit”
- Radiation Invasion: “Your Love is Darkness”
- Bury the Pines: “Pardon My French”
- Danny Worsnop: “Tell Me Why”
- Blessings of Mara: “Pink Venom”
- Beneath the Hollow: “Butter”
- Six Hours For A Lifetime: “21”
- Against the Storm: “Setting Sun”
- The Thing With Feathers: “Miniskirt”
- Awake At Last: “Be Not Afraid”
- Mr. Strange: “Mr. Strange Does Not Exist”
- Sublimenal Stimuli: “Burn Me Up” (ft. Scarlett Silhouette)
- SKYND: “Aileen Wuornos”
- A Killer’s Confession: “In Case of Emergency” (ft. J. Mann)
- Deadcode: “Come Undone”
- Effing and Blinding: “Scab”
- The Witching Hour: “Dead Inside”
- Kissing Candice: “Bitter Pill”
- Of Limbo: “Finish What Ya Started”
- Wraithlurk: “Straitjacket Sin”
- Storm Kingdom: “Upon the Wings of Despair”
- Engines of Ruin: “One More”
My Top 50 Songs of 2024
I didn’t even pretend I was going to do less than 50 songs for this list. There was no way. And y’all made it difficult to narrow it down to even that! I’m gonna end up with a top 100 if I’m not careful.
So, this is totally subjective, of course. There were tons of amazing releases over the past 12 months, and I tried to share them all (though I know I missed a few, or found them too late). But these are the tracks, in no particular order, that grabbed and held my attention without letting go.
View the full playlist HERE.
Note: One band/artist cannot have more than one song included. I tried not to put anything by major label bands/artists on here. Last but not least, no covers!
- The Fifth: “Starlight”
- Wicked Playground: “The Madness”
- Hayden Helms: “Motive Behind the Move”
- LASTRY: “Trick or Treat”
- Kill the Fall: “Let It Breathe”
- Maudlin Strangers: “Silver Stain”
- EarlyRise: “Dance for the Money”
- Nick Nasty: “Lose My YOUth”
- Brett Carlisle: “Runaway”
- Til Fauna: “Whisper”
- Deep as Ocean: “Dark Place”
- Globus, A.D.A.M.: “Redemption (down the line…)”
- No Fly List: “Ghost”
- Towers of Jupiter: “Morsus Frigoris”
- Hooked Like Helen: “It Doesn’t Look So Good For You Now”
- THEHERO: “Blood Money”
- Christopher Ardra: “Losing You”
- Circuit Preacher, Mobiius: “Burn”
- Blackjacket: “Blood Stains”
- Alchemy Within, Skyler Parker: “Blood in the Snow”
- Modern Mimes: “Black Butterflies”
- Major Distortion: “The Lone Sailor”
- High Fade: “Bone to Pick”
- Swim The Current: “Stay”
- Carbonstone: “Echoes”
- Bridges Ablaze: “Numb”
- A Shadow Within: “Event Horizon”
- Feverlust: “i dare you to speak”
- Leonine: “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”
- Young Other: “Change Everything”
- Neon Society: “Heliocentricity”
- Mike’s Dead: “Bestrafe Mich (Punish Me)”
- Black Tourmaline: “Embers”
- Hotel Security: “Manic Attack”
- O Mateus: “Perception”
- Silk Parlor: “Holding Me Up”
- Alibis: “Sell Out”
- Eli Howard & the Greater Good: “Too Broke to Die”
- Mads Krul: “Feeling Alright”
- The Whispering Trees: “Bloodline”
- EverFelt: “River”
- Empty Atlas: “Little Voices”
- Red Eleven: “Path”
- Nothing Like Robots: “all natural”
- Algorhythm: “Deeper”
- Signal the Revolution: “Come to Life”
- The Holy Knives: “Killer”
- Kendall Cage: “Rabbit Hole”
- Nick Palma: “Super Electric”
- Sick Century: “Tidal Wave”
The Mostly Music 2024 Playlist, Pt. 4 (Updated 7/28/24)
I’m sure I’ve missed several singles over the past two weeks, but in my defense, it’s been a very hectic and stressful July for me. I am ready for things to settle down! In the meantime, please check out the 2024 playlists I have compiled!
Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 (all tracks)
And here are the songs that have been added to the fourth installment since July 14th.
- Blackjacket: “Blood Stains”
- Ovtlier: “Warriors” (ft. Chris Motionless)
- Aldern: “The Anomaly”
- Dark Divine: “Digital Numb”
- Innocent Skyline: “Outta My Mind”
- Cannonball: “Flip Flops”
- Von Loop: “Leafy Greens”
- The Split: “Mankind In Vitro – Life Matrix”
- Sleep Theory: “Stuck In My Head”
- Sunny Hallow: “Steppin’ Stones”
- Faded Impulse: “Levels”
- Josh Krajcik: “I Don’t Fear It”
- Slumberwave: “Pareidolia”
- Alchemy Within: “Blood in the Snow” (ft. Skyler Parker)
- Fist in Face: “When Life Fades Away”
- The Pozers: “Missing You (Missing Me)”
- Our-Fi: “Bear Tent”
- Die So Fluid: “Dispute”
- Frost Koffin: “Mass Manipulator”
- The Lonely Ones: “The Bottom”
- Lost in Tomorrow: “Gloves Down” (ft. Marko Duplisak)
- Carissa Creates: “Into Fire”
- By Ghosts: “Enthrone”
- Red Melting: “Dark Moon”
- A Moment of Violence: “Bullet”
- Bunch: “Royal Blood”
Interview: Alchemy Within
Alchemy Within is a musical project based out of Bel Air, Maryland. His work is described as alternative rock that harkens back to the early 2000s, but there are no boundaries for him and the other musicians who contribute to the songs.
Having just released the new EP The Story Thus Far in March, Alchemy Within has hit the ground running in 2024. I was lucky enough to be given the chance to chat with him about how he started, influences, guilty pleasures, what’s next for the project, and more!
**
Mostly Music: How did you start this project? What was it that made you want to create music?
Alchemy Within: I originally started writing solely to maintain my own mental health. Therapy helps, but it wasn’t getting the job done on its own. When I first made Alchemy Within, I had every intention of it being a full band, but I got tired of waiting for people, so I started on my own. I play a little bit of keyboard, but most of the instrumental parts you hear are by cowriters.
MM: What is your songwriting process?
AW: The process usually starts with the lyrics. I’ll have 3 or 4 lines I really like, then build the rest of the song and melody around them.
MM: Do you have regular contributors, as far as your cowriters, or do the other musicians change each time?
AW: I like to have 1 main collaborator, and then if I have someone in mind or someone shows interest, I’ll have them join in, too. Like “Troubled Waters” and “Like A Bullet” have different drummers. I love hearing in the end product how different musician’s influences and stylistic choices blend with mine.
MM: Why call your project “Alchemy Within”?
AW: It’s probably not what you would expect. I was watching something on the History Channel or Travel Channel, something like that, and they were talking about alchemy. I was like, “Huh. That’s kind of like what music is, right?” I wanted the word Alchemy in there, but I didn’t know how to use it, so I used a band name generator. Lol. I typed in that I wanted the word “alchemy” in there, and Alchemy Within was one of the results.
MM: It’s NEVER what I expect! But the generator did you a solid, because that’s good! Who are your major influences, musically? And what is it about that band – or bands – (or artists) that inspires you?
AW: Thank you! My biggest influences are ANYTHING Chris Cornell, Blue October, and Maria Brink. I feel like Chris Cornell is pretty self-explanatory, he’s Chris Cornell. Blue October inspires me because they just kind of do whatever they want and it sounds great. Like one of their songs has an opera singer in it!? I never would’ve thought of that, but it works. Maria Brink is hands down my biggest influence. Especially her Blood and Black Widow eras. She faced SO much adversity and showed so much growth as an artist and a person that I immediately became a fan.
MM: It is inspiring to watch someone face adversity and come out stronger on the other side, especially when much of the judgment is…unwarranted, I guess you might say? Like, it wasn’t that she did shocking or offensive things to draw attention; she just existed in that scene and caught shit for it.
AW: Yeah, she definitely caught a lot of flak that was uncalled for. Those circle pits she would start herself were CRAZY.
MM: Is there anyone you listen to or draw inspiration from that might surprise people? What’s your “guilty pleasure”? (Not that you should be guilty over anything that makes you happy. Lol.)
AW: Usually, Maria Brink and Blue October are the ones that surprise people, but I think they’d also be surprised that I draw inspiration from Dorothy as well.
My guilty pleasures are usually one-offs by different artists, but I think it’s a tie between “Hurt” by Christina Aguilera and “Breakaway” by Avril Lavigne.
MM: I love Dorothy! Saw her (them) with Shinedown, and it made me so happy! Okay. One more of the digging-into-your-tastes type questions, then I’ll get back to the music. Lol. What would be your dream tour lineup that includes Alchemy Within? Be as realistic or unrealistic as you wanna be. I’ve had some fun answers to this one.
AW: Oh crap, that’s a tough one. Unless all of their publicly known personalities are a lie, I think touring with In This Moment and Black Veil Brides would be fun. Maria Brink’s bodyguard kind of scares me, though, not gonna lie. Haha. Myself and a few other people thought he was Jason Mamoa at first glance.
MM: I met BVB in 2018. The VIP was…very controlled, but I got to talk to Andy, Jake, Jinxx, and CC after the show. CC is just as animated as he seems. Lol. And Andy was actually very sweet. My favorite comment he made was “Don’t worry. I’ve been cried on before.” (It wasn’t about me.)
Okay. Back to the music. So I don’t wanna ask your “favorite” song you’ve written, but do you have a track that you connect with more than others?
AW: I think I connect with “Shady” the most because it’s not really about a specific event that’s come and gone, it’s about the ongoing process of self-improvement.
MM: So it’s ALWAYS relatable. You just released “Like a Bullet,” which is how we came to be here. Lol. Can you tell me the story behind that song? You mentioned it was one of your “fun” songs. What was the process when writing lyrics/composing for it?
AW: So the fun part is more the melody and overall sound than it is the lyrics. In a nutshell, it’s about trying to resolve trauma and navigating the consequences/damage. The process was pretty cut and dry. I wrote the chorus lyrics/melody, and my cowriter wrote the instrumentals, then we built off of that. I have no idea why I decided to make the song as high as it is. It only made things 10 times harder.
MM: I would say it paid off. I love the song. I think a lot of people don’t believe I listen to all the music I find, but I do. So, what are your plans for the rest of 2024 from a musical standpoint?
AW: Thank you! I’m just kind of rolling with the punches as far as 2024 goes. I’m branching out a bit and starting to work with different producers and musicians. The production aspect of my music might sound a liiiiiittle different from here on out, but it’ll still kick ass all the same. Hopefully, 2024 is the year I finally find some bandmates!
MM: And if you get a band together, you’ll book shows, right??? Because my little neck of the woods would just be so happy to see you!
Is there any message you want to give your fans (and my readers)?
AW: I will absolutely start booking shows and I’d love to come to your town! To fans and readers alike, I’m always working on something, so at any given point, there is always something new around the corner. Like I just recovered from having Covid and I was still working on music that whole time. It never stops.
MM: I think my last question would be, where all can my readers find your music? Are your songs available on every major platform, or…?
AW: The vast majority of streaming platforms, yeah. The only big one I’m not on is SoundCloud. My distributor doesn’t work with them, and I haven’t made a SoundCloud account yet.
MM: Thank you so much for your time! This has been a lot of fun. We’ll have to do it again soon!
**
Listen to the latest Alchemy Within single, “Like a Bullet,” below and be sure to follow his socials so you never miss an update!!!
The Mostly Music 2024 Playlist, Pt. 2 (Updated 4/7/24)
View the full playlist here. And be sure to visit part I of The Mostly Music 2024 Playlist, as well.
Here are the songs that have been added since 3/24/24.
- Sons of a Sinner: “Nothing’s Changed”
- The Lonely Ones: “My God”
- MUX: “Graveyard Man”
- Khaos Theory: “My Blood”
- Anny: “My Confession”
- Our Sacred Grounds: “Anemoia”
- Lift the Curse: “Vengeance”
- Matyrker: “The Loathsome Thing”
- Dark Remedy: “Never Going Back”
- Twist It: “Bitter”
- Sinful Lilly: “California Man”
- Serpent Rising: “MUD”
- Arcana: “Telepathy”
- BlindHardt: “Burn and Burn”
- Haunting Ghosts: “Final Stretch”
- Max Fite: “Hellbent”
- Dopeghost: “Once Burnt, Twice Shy”
- Wilde Owl: “Bells & Whistles”
- Haunted Vessel: “I Was Never Here”
- Hourcast: “Stop the World”
- In Passing: “Under the Weather”
- Alchemy Within: “Like a Bullet”
- Bleed the Fifth: “Black Sun”
- Wilde Owl: “Get It Right”
- Maudlin Strangers: “Silver Stain”
- The Damn Devils: “Heartstopper”
- Alibis: “Darkside” (Siren Sonata Version)
- Divide the Fall: “Fake Love” (ft. Villain of the Story)
- Lines in the Sky: “Thalassophobia”
- Perfect Nightmare: “Decay”
- Sick Century: “Shadow Worlds Rise”
- Junkyard Drive: “Saw You Hanging There”
- Junkyard Drive: “Shoot From the Hip”
- Leonine: “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”
- Daughters of Mara: “Happy”
- Atlases: “Violent Cold”
- Til Fauna: “Secrets”
- Kaosis: “Memory Never Dies” (ft. Skold)
- Lost Gems: “Black Seed”
- Jack Savage + Blxxd Clxt: “Bad Vibes”
- Hollow Intent: “Rise”
- The Edge of Reason: “With You”
- Upfall: “Lose You” (ft. The Veer Union)
- Noiz Ritual: “Abuse Me”
- Barrel Smoke: “Red Light Rumble”
- Our Frankenstein: “Judas Dance”
- Fractured Sense: “Deteriorate”
- A Shadow Within: “Spiral”
- NDGO: “I See You”
- faulty wires: “DUI”
- Young Other: “Change Everything”
- Thornsband: “Thin”
- Small Town Titans: “Finish the Story”
- You Said Tomorrow: “Blind Mary”
- Die Tired: “Need to Feed”
Mostly Music 